(Newswire.net — August 30, 2016) — Ticks are prevalent in wooded areas and transmit Lyme disease. Fortunately, there are a variety of simple steps you can use to keep ticks out of your home and garden. The following steps are all easy to follow, though you may wish to consult with pest control professionals like UltraPro Pest Protection if your tick problem is particularly bad.
Home and Garden
The first thing you want to do is to learn how to tick-proof your home and your yard and the first step in tick-proofing your yard is to get rid of the tall grass. Ticks love to hide where you walk as they can sense where you’ve been. They often hang out in paths where people regularly walk and just wait for you to pass by. They will very patiently wait in the grass for anyone. As soon as you come along, they will hop on your body and casually look for a place to bite you. It can take hours before a tick finally bites you. The sensation of them crawling all over your body from head to toe under your clothes should be enough to alert you before you get bitten. Take the first step this year in tick-proofing your yard by cutting your grass close to the ground.
You can also try using packed clay and gravel closer to your house for tick prevention. Ticks don’t like dry, flat areas so they would be less likely to hide there. It’s also a good idea to move all of your dead leaves out and away from the perimeter of your house. During the winter months, ticks will start seeking a place to sleep. If leaves are around, they will sleep under the leaves through the winter months. In general, it’s best to remove comfortable vegetative bedding. Use mulch or gravel around your home and pathways to keep ticks from using your yard as a residence.
Live Animals
Live animals like chickens are also a useful decoy to attract (and destroy) ticks. Ticks are attracted to anything that moves as they look for warm-blooded animals as a food source. Not only will chickens attract ticks as they move, but chickens will also gobble up any ticks they find. Chickens also like to eat rodents, frogs and snakes so not only are chickens helping to control your tick population, but they’re also helping to keep other intruders away from your garden.
Essential Oils
Anyone who has suffered from Lyme disease is probably desperate for a natural, do-it-yourself recipe to repel ticks. Here’s a DIY tick-repellent recipe that’s simple to make and features Rose Geranium essential oil. You could use coconut oil or olive oil as a carrier oil. You want to put a couple of tablespoons of your carrier oil in a small bowl, and add the following essential oils:
• Eucalyptus
• Rose Geranium (a great oil to use when repelling ticks)
• Lemongrass (has a beautiful smell and works well to repel insects)
• Citronella
Citronella is known mostly for keeping mosquitos off, but it can be useful against ticks as well. Don’t put too much oil into your formulation as too much can burn your skin. A good dosing is approximately ten drops of each essential oil. To use it, just spread it on your skin to act as an insect repellant. It’s also especially good for dogs when used under their collars.
Here are just a few tips to help keep these nuisances away from your home. If you happen to find way more than one or two around your home, call a pest control professional like UltraPro Pest Protection to get rid of these blood suckers before they become too troublesome.
UltraPro Pest Protection
23 Bergenline Avenue
Westwood, NJ 07675
877-492-2252
http://ultrapropestcontrol.com
With over 30 years of experience in eliminating bed bugs, termites, and rodents, UltraPro Pest Protection is emerging as New York and New Jersey’s leading pest control service for homeowners and commercial businesses.
For more information, visit ultrapropestcontrol.com